Pilot Survives Watertown Plane Crash

WATERTOWN — A pilot lost control of a small plane and crashed in the back yard of a home on Tuesday morning, a police official said.

The man had no obvious injuries, said Robert Desena, deputy police chief.

"He walked away from the plane," Desena said, though the plane was damaged.

The pilot apparently had been headed to the Waterbury Airport in Plymouth, he said. Although he had no visible injuries, he was taken to Waterbury Hospital to be evaluated. He was discharged early Tuesday afternoon, hospital spokeswoman Patty Charvat said.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the plane as a single-engine Cessna 172. The owner is Daniel J. Kropas of Ridgefield, FAA records show. The agency is investigating.

The crash happened about 9 a.m. The plane went down in the large back yard of a house in the 300 block of Park Road, which is near Route 262, the Mattatuck State Forest and Route 8, Desena said. There also are industrial parks in the area, he said.

Desena said he doesn't know the man's name or why he lost control of the plane. Describing the incident as "an emergency crash landing," he said the pilot narrowly avoided power lines as he flew over a field.